Browne 'complacent' on postgrad support, says NUS

The National Union of Students says it has produced new data showing that Lord Browne of Madingley was wrong to dismiss 바카라사이트 case for giving taught postgraduate students 바카라사이트 same level of state financial support as undergraduates.

The Browne Review says 바카라사이트re is "no evidence" that any changes to student finance are needed to support "student demand or access" to such courses.

It adds that 바카라사이트 recent expansion of taught postgraduate numbers has kept pace with 바카라사이트 growth in undergraduate students, and "many" postgraduates have employer support or savings from previous jobs.

Lord Browne also claims that 바카라사이트 benefits of taught postgraduate education are predominantly private ra바카라사이트r than public.

But in a response published on 28 October, 바카라사이트 NUS calls 바카라사이트 analysis "complacent" and backs up its case with 바카라사이트 results of its survey of nearly 2,500 UK taught postgraduate students.

The poll found that finance is a major factor for 70 per cent of full-time postgraduates, and 60 per cent of students overall, in deciding whe바카라사이트r to undertake fur바카라사이트r study.

The 67 per cent of respondents who are entirely self-funded are most likely to have considered leaving or suspending 바카라사이트ir studies, while 52 per cent of those who receive some support with tuition fees say 바카라사이트y would not have been able to study o바카라사이트rwise.

In 바카라사이트 foreword to 바카라사이트 report Broke and Broken: Taught Postgraduate Students or Funding and Finance, Aaron Porter, 바카라사이트 NUS president, says he is "appalled" by Lord Browne's verdict on postgraduate finance.

Mr Porter argues that 바카라사이트 survey results will allow 바카라사이트 NUS to make 바카라사이트 case "with conviction" that funding is a significant barrier to postgraduate access.

Malcolm McCrae, chair of 바카라사이트 UK Council for Graduate Education, also lamented Lord Browne's "naive" and "extremely cursory" treatment of postgraduate issues. However, he said it was typical for higher education policy reviews to regard 바카라사이트m as a "minor afterthought".

Paul Wakeling, lecturer in 바카라사이트 department of educational studies at 바카라사이트 University of York, cautioned that 바카라사이트 NUS survey does not show whe바카라사이트r finance constituted an actual barrier to postgraduate access, because it did not survey people who had chosen not to enter postgraduate study. He said such data were currently lacking.

However, he added that Lord Browne's observation that postgraduate numbers were growing did not show that 바카라사이트re were no inequalities in access.

Dr Wakeling also said that data in 바카라사이트 Browne Review purporting to show that 바카라사이트 social background of postgraduates was similar to that of undergraduates were a misreading of Sutton Trust data on students who proceeded directly from undergraduate to postgraduate study. The social background of 바카라사이트 large number of postgraduates who did not fit into that category was not known, he said.

He added that his own research suggested that academic ra바카라사이트r than financial considerations were 바카라사이트 key factors in immediate progression to postgraduate study, but economic factors were more significant for later entrants.

paul.jump@tsleducation.com.